Maybe that was it. The insecurity of being this way. That's
what it had been, she knew, all along. Being blind and
282 jack L. Chalker
dependent but beautiful and sexy had given her some measure
of power and security. They could be appalled at her liking
me old way to this, but in her old society, as well as in
Akhbreed culture, looks outweighed anything else most every
time. Nobody ever seemed to look beyond, look inside. That
was even this hangup the Akhbreed had with the Changewind
victims. Those Masalurians, at least according to Boolean,
still had the same minds, personalities, souls, whatever. They
just looked really bizarre now, but no more bizarre than the
native colonials had looked, nor than the Akhbreed looked to
the colonials.
But something in the back of her mind wondered if maybe
she wasn't just as guilty of that. She'd never once put the
make on Dorion, who was no worse-looking and better-
looking than some or most of her old "clients" back on
Tubikosa, but she'd fallen overboard for the handsome, sexy,
romantic Halagar, Mister Macho, and look at what he'd been
inside. Could that train of thought be right? Could she be Just
as guilty of what she condemned others for behaving? It was
a troubling thought.
They passed over the border once more, this time far easier
than going the opposite way. Even the magic sight was gone;
the null just glowed in the same way it had when she'd first
seen it, but enough so she could see the rebel emplacements.
There seemed a lot more of them.
The Covantian side seemed, paradoxically, smaller than
she'd remembered it, although admittedly her memories were
colored by her limited sight and condition at the time. It had
just seemed that there had been wall to wall guys down there
when they'd crossed the first time, and now it was the kind of
makeshift, thin line like the rebels had back then. But the hub
ahead was so dark that for a moment she thought she was
going blind again.
For Sam, die whole place was alive with a glorious glow,
and when they crossed into the hub itself the countryside was
not dark, but lit with a dim but beautiful spectral glow.
Everything, it seemed, had some kind of aura. and each was
unique, both by class and by shape within that class. It was
beautiful—but where were the lights? There were vineyards
and farms and whole towns down there. Even though it was
WAR OF THE MAELSTROM 283
growing late, there should be lights. Was it a limitation of
this new vision, or was something very strange down mere?
"I think they're getting smarter than Klittichom gave them
credit for," Boolean'? voice came to them. "At least, it
seems so. Maybe, just maybe, somebody's gotten paranoid
about Changewinds in the hub. There's only a few people and
some animals down there. Probably civil guards making sure
nobody gets any bright ideas about looting. Either Grotag got
the shakes after all, or the kings and nobles did."
"But—you mean it's been evacuated?" Charley asked him.
"If so, where would they go? And how?"
"Well, it's just a hunch, but the rebels didn't have enough
to mass on every border and left only token forces on one
before hitting Masalur. If the one opposite is uncovered, as it
might well be, then we'll find they've moved the mass of
people to the outer ring and into a safe and secure colony, a
bit dispersed and with me bulk of the army to protect them. It's
smart. If anybody hits Covanti they're going to cream the best
vineyards in the cosmos. If it isn't hit, they'll eventually
move back in only a little worse for wear. But to hit 'em in
the colonies with precision like they used on my hub, they'd
need a Second Rank man of their own on sight to aid in
spotting, and they don't have enough to go around at all, let
alone spare. If everybody's doing this, he's going to have a
real empty victory. Of course, everybody won't, but it looks
like the smart ones may get through this. Well, we have to
pass very near the center of the city. If Grotag's still holding
down the fort we'll know who's scared and who's stupid, and
it's the loyal Second Rankers he's really after anyway."
The center city showed lights, but the population was far
less dense than it should have been. Clearly a fairly large
number of people had decided not to move, or to take the
chance, or that the risk was in somebody's head, but, still,
there couldn't have been more man ten or fifteen percent of
the people left. The exception was the big castle in the center,
which, to Sam, Dorion, and Boolean, blazed with a light so
bright it was almost impossible to look at.
"So Grotag's still at home and holding fast," Boolean
noted. "Well, thank the Lord for civilian government and
some common sense. It goes to show how useless power is
without brains. A few top adepts could hold that shield
284 Jack L. Chalker
convincingly and Grotag could protect himself and his people
at their side. What a jerk!"
Once beyond the city, there seemed to be far more activity
and a lot more life, and it increased as they closed in close to
the bolder. Clearly me evacuation was still in progress and
this was me side possibly left undefended by the rebels. They
weren't going quite there, though, but angled off to the north,
skirting the border, and came upon a town that looked very
normal and undisturbed and still with some life in it. The
border towns would be the last to go in any event, of course,
and might not, since they wouldn't be at Ground Zero or near
it. The country areas of Masalur hadn't been touched by the
Changewind except for one narrow swath towards the exit
point. These people were just as safe at home.
Down now, not quite to the town, but to a small house on
top of a hill overlooking that town, settling down right in the
front yard, as it were. Sam and Kira recognized it at once, but
it was strange to the others.
Boolean got off, and Dorion slid off his and came over and
helped Charley up off hers. She made almost a tearing sound
when she did rise, as if she'd been glued to or stuck to the
thing.
There was a light on in the front window, and before
anyone could approach the front door, it opened, and a
pleasant, sweet-looking gray-haired little old lady toddled out
and looked at them, then smiled sweetly.
"I've been expecting you," said Etanalon.
Etanalon looked around quizzically at the group. She nod-
ded to Kira and said, "Her I know, but you—" pointing to
Charley, "you look like the one who was here but you are
not. And you," she went on, pointing to Sam, "you I know
as well. Oh, dear. Has the mirror erred? Have you starved
yourself for months to get to that state?"
Sam laughed. "No, it's Boolean's tricks. We're kind'a
twins, and Boolean switched our bodies around."
Etanalon sighed and nodded. "Ah, yes, that explains it.
You, skinny one, should eat something. Anything. 1 have
some find food and snacks in the kitchen." She looked again
at Chariey. "But you, my dear ... I sense great conflict and
unhappiness in you. Perhaps we might do something for
WAR OF THE MAELSTROM 285
you." She turned to Dorion. "And you, young man, should
get some pants on!"
"No time now for all that should be done," Boolean told
her. "1 want to be out of Covanti entirely before a good
search is launched. Anybody else?"
"Yobi will meet us en route," she told him- "It is cutting
it close, but what can Klittichorn have up there? We know the
rogues and mental midgets he employs in the field, so what
sort of competition can he have on hand?"
"Probably adepts he elevated himself without going through
the niceties," the sorceror replied. "That makes them un-
knowns and thus more dangerous. The best guess I have is
that he uses three of them on some kind of mock-up of
Akahlar to triangulate and hold the position, then he opens
the weak point and the Storm Princess captures and guides the
storm. But that still leaves their four Second Rank against our
three. Not good odds when one is Klittichorn and the other
three are Klittichorn hand-picked and trained."
"Bosh. What kind of experience can they have? Those
three have most certainly been concentrated in their training
on the single goal of making this work. You have a mental
hang-up on Klittichorn, though, which could prove our undo-
ing. Are you certain you wouldn't like to face the mirror?"
Boolean gave a dry chuckle. "I'll handle him, don't worry."
Sam looked at Etanalon wide-eyed. "You are going to help
us? I thought you were above this sort of thing."
"No one should be above crushing evil, dear," the sorcer-
ess responded. "I have been sitting here treating the individ-
ual ills of Akahlar so long, I seem to have temporarily lost
my perspective. Just as I could no longer work for the system
I found oppressive, so can I not sit idly by while whole
masses of people are destroyed or driven mad. Some madnesses
are such that they do not know they are mad and so will never
seek treatment. Klittichorn is the sort of insanity that visits its
madness on the innocent. The man is suffering but he is
taking it out on everyone else. I can not sit idly by and let that
happen. It was the two of you who made me doubt, but only
when Masalur was so brutally assaulted did I realize that
Boolean was right."
"I'm going to need to use your lab to get in touch with my
people and make certain everything is set up," Boolean told
286 fack L. Chalker
her. "Sam, you come, too. We want to discuss a few things.
The rest of you just hang loose; raid the pantry if you want,
but I*d suggest sleep."
Etanalon, Boolean, and Sam went into the back and down
into the depths of the hill where the sorceress's laboratory
was, leaving the rest.
"Yobi, too," Dorion breathed. "I can hardly believe it!
She hardly ever moves from her lair for anything."
"I think Boolean's right," Kira told them. "I think we
should pick some comfortable spots in here and get what rest
we can. We don't know just when we'll have to move long,
hard, and fast. I don't sleep—nights—so 1 can keep a sort of
watch. 1 know this place and I'm used to it."
They gave Charley the couch, but she found it too uncom-
fortable to sleep, and felt a little too keyed up. The others,
from Boday to Dorion, had no such problems, and Kira was
back snacking in the kitchen. She hauled herself up after a
while, feeling a need for fresh air, quietly opened the door.
and walked outside.
It was a beautiful night and, with the town below, an almost
picture postcard scene. The air was warm, with just enough
of a gentle breeze to make it pleasant; the kind of atmosphere
and setting that made the troubles seem as distant as home,
and allowed you to pretend, if only for a few moments, that
nothing was wrong.
A strange, small shape moved nearby, startling her and
causing an involuntary cry.
"Sorry," said the strange voice of Cromil. "Didn't mean
to make you jump, although sometimes it's fun scaring folks."
She relaxed. "That's all right. I'm surprised you're not
down with them, though, and that you're talking to me."
The little green familiar spat. "Nothing but boring crap
down there. No interest at all to Cromil. Just talking about
ways to get themselves killed is all. Got to hand it to him,
though. If anybody can pull it all off, Boolean can. Suckered
you good, didn't he?"
She frowned and looked at the tiny shape in the darkness.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You never figured out how his mind works, have you? So
pleasant, so chatty, you'll hand over your jewels and beg him
to steal the rest. Gets so complicated sometimes he crosses
WAR OF THE MAELSTROM 287
himself up—almost did with the two of you. Had all this in
mind from the start, he did. Surprised he actually got this far,
though. The others all wound up bad."
"Others?"
"Sure. Your friend wasn't the only Storm Princess dupe he
managed to snatch from Klittichom's grasp. Not many, but a
few. Took bets on 'em, we did, only neither of us would bet
that your friend would be the one to make it this far.''
"Bets? What—what happened to the others? Where are
they?"
The little green monkey shrugged in very human fashion.
"Some dead. That's the easiest state to accomplish in this
place. Others trapped, caught by Klittichom's men, or spells,
or whatever. Started you all off pretty equal and pretty low,
he did. Wound you all up and let you run. Put the pressure
under you when he had to, otherwise just let you run. Set you
far away from him and sit there and tell you to find him. Kick
you in the ass if you sat down or gave up. A kind of race in
the end. First one to reach Boolean wins."
Her jaw dropped a bit. "But—why? You mean he could
have pulled us to him at any time? That he caused all that we
went through?"
"Not specifics. Bailed you out when he could, but mostly
you were on your own. See, the winner gets to go up against
the Storm Princess, right? Practiced, accomplished, one tough
broad, driven by hate. Think of yourself when you got dumped
here. Would your friend have been any match for the Storm
Princess and sorcerers then? Would she even have understood
the dangers or her own self? She'd have been a patsy. Chopped
to pieces out of ignorance, hang-ups, you name it. Took
education, see? Had to learn about Akahlar, about wizards
and spells and all that stuff. All of you were naive, dumb.
impractical airheads—typical teenagers. No good to go against
them. You had to leam the rules, learn what evil really was,
and to separate it from stupidity, which often looks the same.
You had to fight some battles, get victimized, even abused.
Not planned—we just knew it would happen. Could you
cope? Could you survive? Help out when we could and you
couldn't, sure, when we could, but that's all. You're the only
two that made it."
She sighed. When she saw how close she and Sam had
288 Jack L. Chalker
both come to buying the farm, it was even more sobering.
Right up to the last minute. ... She wasn't sure if she was
elated or depressed as hell by the news. "I see," she an-
swered. "Both of us had to be degraded, raped, tortured